Poll

Columns

There is so much going on downtown Quincy that it would be a shame to miss it. First, I think that the community owes CRA/MainStreet Director Charles Hayes a pat on the back for the work he has put into bringing people downtown. Now we have regulars from Tallahassee and other areas joining our citizens to enjoy music. fun and fellowship.

No, Joan, please tell that nice grandmother friend of yours that I
really don’t want to take on tutoring her grandchild. I like helping
out the kids here at LBJ, and I’m finding more and more
that they really need me.”
I had been volunteering out at the LBJ CCC camp in Franklin,

I am so sick of this year's crop of political candidates. I am sick of the nasty, mean-spirited television commercials I grab the remote control as soon as one comes on. I try my very best to dodge them or at least hit the mute button as quickly as possible.

Mother’s Day. It’s just around the corner. There are many who will celebrate it with bittersweet memories of their mothers who are no longer here. Others are fortunate enough to be able to spend the holiday with their moms.

I am one of those still blessed to have my mother here with me. Well, she’s not here, but she’s still here...if you get what I mean. She doesn’t live here; she lives in North Georgia.

When I think back over the course of my life, there’s one constant thread...the love of my mother.

Last week was a busy one for law enforcement and a sad one for several families who had to bury loved ones. It happens all too frequently in our state and in our nation. But I suppose I am most bothered by some of the comments people make about Gadsden County. It appears that some of our neighbors are chomping at the bit and waiting for a tragedy to befall our community so they can take pot-shots at us.

The most troubling and insulting comment came from someone who wrote: "Let's bulldoze Gadsden County and start from scratch."

It’s May already...and summer’s just around the corner. When I realized that, it got me to thinking about all the things I grew up doing during those blissful months without the burden of homework or school.

When I was a kid, the thing to do in the summertime was to go to the pool at the American Legion. It cost a dollar to get in, and there was a snack bar where you could purchase a small cup of soda and choose from a number of snack foods.

This weekend we welcome visitors to our city for the annual QuincyFest. People come from throughput Georgia and Florida to hear good blues and eat fantastic barbecue. A lot of local people put in many volunteer hours throughout the year to make the event a success. It has been a success. And the event is getting even better.

Just 3 weeks shy of the National Day of Prayer, set for the first Thursday in May each year, rumors circulated that Obama had decided he didn’t want to “offend anyone,” so he canceled it. He didn’t cancel the National Day of Prayer, and was expected to sign a proclamation to uphold the tradition. He did, however, cancel the White House service in observance of the day.

When I found out last Wednesday that Corrections Corporation of America no longer had the contract to operate Gadsden Correctional facility at Gretna, I felt as if an old friend told me he was moving to another city. I had become so accustomed to the people being there and calling on them to support the community and attending the quarterly Community Relations Committee meetings.

After working with and covering the Havana Relay for Life, I found myself wondering about the people who commit to working so hard on similar events. Beyond the obvious reasons, I wondered what makes people commit to such involvement.

Then I began to think about how we can be involved in making the world a better place on a daily basis. And that started me to thinking about random acts of kindness.